The Royal Thai Embassy, in collaboration with the ASEAN, New Delhi Committee and the ASEAN-India Centre, organised the ASEAN Quiz on 1 September at Arya auditorium. The event marked the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of ASEAN and the 25th anniversary of ASEAN-India dialogue relations, aimed to spread awareness about ASEAN and its achievements among the Indian public. Especially Indian youths, leading to greater understanding of the organisation and its member states, their people and their interactions with India over the last 25 years.
With 150 teams, each of 3 students from various schools and colleges across Delhi-NCR participated in the quiz. The focus lay on ASEAN, its history, achievements and the member states, along with their cultures along with their financial, technological and industrial developments, sporting and individual achievements, as well as questions in the realm of art, leisure and entertainment in the member states, individually and as a community.
The teams went through an intense written round of 25 questions. Six teams who achieved the highest scores got to compete in the Grand Finale on stage. The six teams were from Bits Pilani, The Hindu College, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College, Jesus and Mary College, Amity International School, Noida, and Dayal Singh College.
His Excellency Chutintorn Gongsakdi, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to India and current chair of ASEAN, New Delhi committee, gave a keynote address before the grand finale. He gave introduction to the students on ASEAN’s close cooperation and solidarity as one community. He also thanked India for her friendship towards ASEAN and emphasised on the bond shared by the people of all the neighboring countries which dates back to thousands of years. He expressed happiness on seeing the interest and eagerness of the students on ASEAN relations.
The grand finale was a tough battle for the finalists as various questions were asked including visuals and videos that tested everyone’s knowledge of a different dimensions of ASEAN.
The team from Amity International School, Noida, which was the only school among the 5 other College finalists, earned the ASEAN quiz champions title and won Rs 50,000, followed by The Hindu College team who won Rs 25,000 and Bits Pilani team coming in on third position winning Rs 10,000.